


latch

by erenmin



Series: tumblr drabbles [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, M/M, Post-Time Skip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-02
Updated: 2019-08-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:00:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erenmin/pseuds/erenmin
Summary: Everything else Armin once found endearing about Eren seems to turn sour all in one moment, realizing that the Eren he and Mikasa were still clinging onto is long gone.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager
Series: tumblr drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877449
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	latch

**Author's Note:**

> do not mind my mass posting at the moment, i'm just doing this since i rarely use tumblr plus i could use the extra validation.

He can’t find the strength to pick himself up off the floor, surrounded by shattered glass and four people in the room, Mikasa the only one Armin finds himself able to recognize at this point. True to his thoughts, he feels himself being lifted by her as Eren barks out orders at the soldiers that had been in the doorway since they started fighting. 

Despite his near incapacitated state, Armin still feels the adrenaline running through his veins, the anger fueling him and granting him the strength to spew out the words at Eren, but not feeling the gratification he desperately sought. He finds himself wondering if this is what Eren had always felt when he used to speak of killing titans, trying to rally together his comrades and push them to fight so they could live to see another day. A wave of nostalgia that nearly overcomes Armin is quickly pushed out by disgust and horror, concluding that these same feelings were what shifted the focus on titans to enemies, to innocents simply living on the other side, eventually inciting mass genocide. Everything else Armin once found endearing about Eren seems to turn sour all in one moment, realizing that the Eren he and Mikasa were still clinging onto is long gone.

Armin realizes the diverging paths they both started the first time they visited the sea, where Armin has had to grow and fill a role of responsibility and authority for a nation that is behind the rest of the world, targeted based on prejudices. Eren, however, seemed to have stayed the same in the stance where everything is still black and white, an impulsive all-or-nothing approach to a problem that had so many complexities to it. Armin believed that there could have been some kind of conversation held, some kind of summit to sit down with other world leaders to clarify misunderstandings between Eldians and the rest of the world. He wasn’t terribly naive like Eren accused to deny the fact that war was a necessary evil for humanity that has greatly painted the history of mankind and would continue to do so for the rest of time, but Armin could never understand why people had always resorted straight to violence and destruction before even trying to understand the other side, trying to compromise even or in the best case, resolve the problem. Innocent lives didn’t have to come into play so carelessly, but Eren had already made that decision for everyone when he attacked Marley.

Armin can’t help but feel anger at himself for the unfolding of events despite not knowing Eren’s intent or having any kind of influence over Eren’s actions, he’s angry at himself for losing Eren so long ago and not noticing it until now. He wants to laugh at himself for thinking he could even get through to Eren now, for trying to get access to him through Zackly, for being naive enough to make futile attempts to get through to Eren after all this time. 

Armin’s mind is going a million miles a minute but he almost hear it screech to a halt as Eren’s bite back at him fills the room, the death glare burning back into Armin’s just as intense glare. He didn’t expect a genuine reaction from Eren at this point, and he feels his face soften and fall immediately at his words. He seems to be taking back all the thoughts he had before about completely losing Eren, that gratification overcoming him. Armin feels himself turn into the 15 year old boy that understood Eren best at this point, and he wants to kick himself for being so clinging so desperately to something that would seem so insignificant to everyone else. Armin succumbing to this clinging of hope is what wills him to finally try to help Mikasa help him onto his feet, and he notices Eren’s glare hasn’t let up any. Armin squints his eyes in concentration as he studies Eren, and Eren still seems all too familiar with Armin as he tears his gaze away, but not fast enough for Armin to miss the malice in his glare crumble and be replaced by frustration as he turns away and quickly exits the room before everyone else, as if to escape before he could let himself become so transparent to Armin once again.

**Author's Note:**

> all of my tumblr drabbles are so angsty lol
> 
> you can find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/erensmin)
> 
> feedback is always appreciated!


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